Fourth Church “Departs” Harvest Bible Fellowship

Just over three months ago, James MacDonald, Senior Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, made a decision.  Against the timely and judicious counsel of certain “influential leaders” within The Gospel Coalition, he decided to proceed with the theological circus known as the Elephant Room 2.  At the time, he apparently believed that the opportunity to engage Bishop T.D. Jakes in a public conversation was of such paramount importance that it was worth severing his official ties to The Gospel Coalition.  To no one’s surprise, not everyone agreed with his assessment.

 

Does Pastor James MacDonald Possess too much Power?

So what does the leadership of a highly visible mega church do when it begins to feel the pressure mount in the aftermath of a questionable course of action?

A week and a half ago, Harvest Bible Chapel took its next step in trying to answer this question by inviting only the men of the church to a special Sunday night “prayer meeting.”  According to multiple sources, when the men arrived at the church, it immediately became clear that this was going to be more than a typical “prayer meeting.”  Amidst a heightened security presence, the attendees were advised to turn off all phones and/or recording devices, shortly before being advised to report anyone seen using such a device to the security.

 

The New Elephant in the Room: Mark Driscoll, James MacDonald and Authoritarian Rule in the Church – Part 1

Mars Hill Church.  By all the “measurable” standards promoted by the Church Growth Movement, it stands as one of the towering monuments amongst the 1300 Protestant megachurches presently dotting the landscape of this nation. With a weekly attendance of over 12,000 people gathering on fourteen different campuses in four different states, it’s lead pastor, Mark Driscoll, has become something of a “rock star” amongst the evangelical faithful. His sermon podcasts generally exceed 100,000 downloads per week; he authors New York Times best-selling books on the subject of marital sex; and he does media tours and interviews on popular daytime shows such as The View.  As I said: “rock star.”

 

The Descent: James MacDonald, Harvest Bible Chapel and the Blurry Road to a Prosperity Gospel

There is a heated controversy brewing in the evangelical world – one that has the power to fundamentally alter the shape of one of the most influential churches in the Chicagoland area.  The roots of the controversy stretch back to 2011 and the birth of an idea called The Elephant Room.  Put simply, the premise behind this event was to gather various leaders both from within the church and from outside of it to discuss “the most Christ honoring ways of building a church.”[1]  The event was recorded, simulcast and eventually sold in the interest of reaching and influencing the widest possible array of Christian leaders around the globe.

 

Marketing the Church into Oblivion

Earlier this morning, as I perused the usual websites I tend to haunt over my morning cup of coffee, I encountered a news item entitled: “Pastor Ed Young, Wife to Stream Time in Bed on the Internet.”  Needless to say, I did a double take.

Apparently, Ed Young, who is the Founding and Senior Pastor of the multi-site Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, has a new book to sell.  This book, which he co-authored with his wife, is called Sexperiment; and it encourages married couples to commit to having sexual relations every day for seven straight days.  Now please understand, I am not questioning a pastor’s decision to teach on the subject of human sexuality.  Far from it.  What I am questioning here today is the seemingly boundless lengths to which we are willing to go to market Christianity to a Modern, presumably disinterested, culture. 

Back in 2008, Paul and Susie Wirth released a book entitled, 30-Day Sex Challenge.  It was marketed with the tagline:

“Every man’s fantasy: 30 days of sex! Every woman’s dream: 30 days of intimacy!”

Now I want you to stop and look at that for a moment; and I want you to ask yourself: what is being “sold” and who’s “selling” it?  While I don’t know the sales figures for the book,  its basic premise caught fire, as it was used as the inspiration for many “challenges” delivered in numerous churches across the nation.

But as we all know, news cycles move on, and Modernity is always anxious to discard the “old” in favor of the “new.”  And so now, just three years later, capitalism once again rears its ugly head within the church, and two new books are released.  The first book, Young’s Sexperiment, promises to do in seven days, what the “old” book could only do in 30.  And as for Mark Driscoll’s book, Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship and Life Together, it promises to tell you all sorts of explicit things, the likes and details of which I will leave for you to investigate.

Here’s the problem.  Not only are we, as Christians, caught in the lie that the “new” must be better than the “old,” we’re also caught up in constantly struggling to find new and “innovative” ways to market our materials.  If N.T. Wright goes on Comedy Central’s  Colbert Report, than Driscoll has to show up on Dr. Drew’s Loveline.  And if Rob Bell previews his book, Love Wins, with a catchy video, than Ed Young has to one-up him and stage a “Sexperiment Bed In.”  You read that right.  In an effort to generate some serious sales volume, Ed Young and his wife, are camped out for 24 hours on a bed on the roof of their church.  And you are invited to witness this live event through this link.

The question are numerous.  Where will this all end?  Is it even possible for this to end?  Or are we all caught up upon a wave – a wave that leaves us flailing about as we wait to be dashed upon the rocky shoreline?  I guess only time will tell.